Tennis|Grigor Dimitrov, a Federer-Like Player, Loses Again to the Real Thing

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Grigor Dimitrov, a Federer-Like Player, Loses Again to the Real Thing

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Grigor Dimitrov, during his four-set loss Friday to Roger Federer in Melbourne in the third round of the Australian Open. He used to be called Baby Federer because of their stylistic similarities.CreditCreditAaron Favila/Associated Press

By Ben Rothenberg

Jan. 22, 2016

MELBOURNE, Australia — From the beginning of Grigor Dimitrov’s career, his stylistic similarities to Roger Federer were obvious. But as he has stagnated over the past 18 months, their differences are becoming more apparent.

Federer, seeded third, dispatched Dimitrov, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, on Friday in the third round of the Australian Open, improving his record against Dimitrov to 5-0.

After an ascendant 2014 in which he broke into the top 10, Dimitrov stalled last year. He is now 24 years 8 months old; by that age, Federer, who is now 34, had won seven Grand Slam titles.

A direct comparison to Federer, who on Friday became the first male player to win 300 Grand Slam singles matches, is a burden for any unproven player. Dimitrov, a Bulgarian, was called Baby Federer early in his career because his forehand, backhand and serve technique mirrored Federer’s.

“When I saw Grigor, obviously he was a talented player with a lot of tools, and a lot of talk and a lot of hype, all the Baby Fed stuff,” Rasheed said. “It’s good, but I never buy into that activity. It’s good to have when you’re a young kid, obviously, but then it gets to a point where you’re going to be your own person and actually create your own brand.”

Rasheed preached “elite behavior activation” and emphasized strength. Under his instruction, the lithe Dimitrov gained eight pounds of muscle and began to have results that matched his flashy game.

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Highlights from No. 3 Roger Federer's victory over No. 27 Grigor Dimitrov in the third round of the Australian Open, which was Federer’s 300th win in a Grand Slam singles match.Published OnJan. 22, 2016CreditCreditLukas Coch/European Pressphoto Agency

At Wimbledon in 2014, Dimitrov ousted the defending champion, Andy Murray, in straight sets to reach the semifinals and achieved a career-high ranking of eighth. His fatigue at the end of 2014 may have caused him to miss out on a spot in the year-end championships, but Rasheed was confident that with a similar commitment, the pair could take the next step together last year.

“For me, I’d gotten him to where he was at Everest, at base camp,” Rasheed said. “Before he was nowhere near it; he was in the parking lot, saying, ‘Where’s the bus that’s going to take me there?’ And he didn’t know which bus to get onto. You just have to look at what was going on before that. Once you’re at base camp, I just need to see a repeat performance.”

Instead, Dimitrov regressed, which Rasheed attributed to possible complacency and distraction. Dimitrov did not win a tournament and failed to advance past the fourth round at a Grand Slam event.

“My big thing was about simplicity, and not getting caught up in being a center of attention,” Rasheed said. “Because ‘Wow, I’m already there, I’m legit now.’ Yeah, you’re there as a number, but you still have to earn your stripes because we can all go up and down pretty quickly.”

Rasheed mentioned Dimitrov’s relationship with Maria Sharapova, which began in 2013, as a harmful influence. “I think it’s hard to have a really high-profile girlfriend in the same sport when you’re trying to create your own identity,” Rasheed said. “As much as you think you can manage that, a lot of the energy has to go, selfishly, to you. If you want to attack the top of the game — and I don’t mean just being a pro player — if you want to attack the very top, it’s about, ‘Where does my energy go?’

“We play an emotional sport; it’s win-loss every week. So there’s obviously going to be time when we have to tap into the other halves on the emotional side. Normally it’s them helping us. But when we have to give it all back as well, it can be draining, and it can affect outcomes.”

Dimitrov split with Rasheed after Wimbledon last year, weeks before his relationship with Sharapova also ended.

Describing 2015 as “just a rough season,” Dimitrov said: “I had problems with the rackets, you know, switching back and forth, changing the team. All that’s a big factor, I think. It takes a little bit out of you. Your focus is shifting a little bit. Next thing you know, you find yourself in a very tough spot. I think that’s what happened with me. But I can only learn from it.”

Dimitrov has found another high-profile girlfriend in the singer Nicole Scherzinger, with whom he was splashed across front pages during the Brisbane tournament in the first week of this year.

Dimitrov, who was also romantically linked to Serena Williams before dating Sharapova, bristled at the notion that his star-studded personal life could prove a distraction.

“My private life is my private life, that’s how it is,” he said. “Whoever’s next to me, it’s my own business in a way.”

Federer said he believed it was the changes in racket and team that most created upheaval for Dimitrov.

“I think he just lost his confidence for a little while,” said Federer, who signed Dimitrov to his Team8 management company in 2013. “The problem is once you’re ranked between 10 and 20, or even beyond — I don’t know what his ranking is — you just get tough draws. Next thing you know, it’s like first or second round, you’re playing the big boys. You’re not even playing poorly, you’re just not winning those matches anymore like when you were ranked inside of the top 10.”

Federer called last season a “learning curve” for Dimitrov.

“I think this year has got to be better for him,” Federer said, citing Dimitrov’s run to the final of the tuneup event in Sydney last week. “He’s just got to take the positives out of it, you know, what’s been going well. He’s been playing well at the top of the baseline, going through his shots. He’s playing positive tennis, and that’s what he’s got to keep doing moving forward.”

Dimitrov is ranked 28th, as he was before starting with Rasheed. He is now working with Franco Davín, who previously coached Juan Martín del Potro.

“Slowly, you know, the pieces are coming together,” Dimitrov said. “But obviously when you lose matches against obviously the top guys, there’s a lot you can see that you can still work on.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D3 of the New York edition with the headline: A Federer-Like Player Loses Again to the Real Thing. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe